0:00:04 > 0:00:09Fraud and cheating costs us billions, money that could be spent
0:00:09 > 0:00:13on schools, hospitals and those in genuine need effectively stolen
0:00:13 > 0:00:19away. Tonight's Panorama exposes those who're abusing the system to
0:00:19 > 0:00:24fund their lifestyles. Meet the man sailing the seas on
0:00:24 > 0:00:32his yacht while claiming Incapacity Benefit. This is a Saturday evening
0:00:32 > 0:00:42sipping my gin back there... Meet the man on benefits driving a
0:00:42 > 0:00:44
0:00:44 > 0:00:49Bentley and running a posh Meet the man suspected of using one
0:00:49 > 0:00:57fake name to get benefits after using another one to stay in the
0:00:57 > 0:01:01country. So you and him are the same person? Got there at last.
0:01:01 > 0:01:08Excuse me... Meet the people who block off disabled parking bays
0:01:08 > 0:01:14using permits that aren't theirs. No, I had to go the other side...
0:01:14 > 0:01:19You nearly run us over... All those caught claiming disability benefits
0:01:19 > 0:01:23but spending their days playing sport. Fraud Cos us all much-needed
0:01:23 > 0:01:31cash. Each time fraud takes place, it means that public expenditure
0:01:32 > 0:01:36reductions have to be more painful, more jobs have to go. Mr Sussams, a
0:01:36 > 0:01:46couple of questions... Swindling from those who need it most.
0:01:46 > 0:01:49
0:01:50 > 0:01:53�22 billion a year, according to the latest research - that is how
0:01:53 > 0:01:58much fraud and error costs the Government. A significant chunk of
0:01:58 > 0:02:04that is benefit fraud, a conthat's so common, many of us know someone
0:02:04 > 0:02:09who's at it. Tonight, we'll spend time with those trying to catch
0:02:09 > 0:02:14them, chasing people they believe are claiming what's not theirs.
0:02:14 > 0:02:20Like this man, Graham Axford, Croydon Council think he's lied to
0:02:20 > 0:02:25get a flat and gets Incapacity Benefit he may not be entitled to.
0:02:25 > 0:02:30Andrea Cordery works for the council and is investigating him.
0:02:30 > 0:02:34Well, this case was referred to us in about 2009 and we've been
0:02:34 > 0:02:38investigating for quite a while. so he's on disability benefit
0:02:38 > 0:02:42through your council? Yes. So he's getting disability, cash for that?
0:02:42 > 0:02:49Yes. But what, he's got a property in France? And also we discovered
0:02:49 > 0:02:54that he owns a yacht. He's got a yacht? Yes. And it's been said that
0:02:54 > 0:02:59he's been heard boasting about travelling around the world in his
0:02:59 > 0:03:03yacht. Where's he been boasting? a local pub.
0:03:04 > 0:03:11So, the council think Graham Axford lives a life subsidised by benefits
0:03:11 > 0:03:16he shouldn't have. Well, we want to see for ourselves. This is where
0:03:16 > 0:03:20the council believes he's been leading a secret life. He has his
0:03:20 > 0:03:26flat in Croydon, but here in Normandy, they think he has another
0:03:26 > 0:03:31home. Extraordinary as it may sound, a 42 foot yacht too. We are in
0:03:31 > 0:03:37northern France and this is the town of Carentan, very pretty. This
0:03:37 > 0:03:47is where he think that Axford's boat is. So it's time that I had a
0:03:47 > 0:03:57
0:03:57 > 0:04:05We hear the boat is out of the water in a repair yard. OK, so this
0:04:05 > 0:04:10is the boat yard just at the back of the marina. And there is
0:04:10 > 0:04:15Axford's boat, crumb bet 250 it's called. It's -- Crumpet Too it's
0:04:15 > 0:04:19called. It's here because it's for sale. I'm quite keen to have a look
0:04:19 > 0:04:23inside. The plan, now we've found it, is to get an undercover
0:04:23 > 0:04:33reporter to go and meet Mr Axford and have a chat with him about his
0:04:33 > 0:04:33
0:04:33 > 0:04:38boat. Maybe make a bid for Crumpet Too. Our undercover reporter chats
0:04:38 > 0:04:43to a guy in the boat yard who knows Graham Axford. He's happy to show
0:04:43 > 0:04:53us around and help us aboard Crumpet Too. It's a fine boat and
0:04:53 > 0:04:53
0:04:54 > 0:04:57it's big, 42 foot long, space for six people on board. It's got a
0:04:57 > 0:05:02radar for long distance navigation and a short wave radio. This is a
0:05:02 > 0:05:08yacht that looks like it's done some serious miles. The cabin is
0:05:08 > 0:05:14well lived in. Not bad for a man who's also got his council flat and
0:05:14 > 0:05:18benefits in Croydon. The boat might look a bit tatty, but done up, it's
0:05:18 > 0:05:26an ocean-going yacht worth �60,000. So we've seen his boat, next we'll
0:05:26 > 0:05:29need to try and meet the owner. Nationally, fraud is on the rise.
0:05:30 > 0:05:35The latest research suggests that since the downturn hit three years
0:05:35 > 0:05:44ago, fraud has shot up by 30%. That means more pressure than ever on
0:05:44 > 0:05:48those paid to catch cheats. Kiri Tharan has been an investigator for
0:05:48 > 0:05:5125 years and leads a team in Hillingdon in London tackling those
0:05:51 > 0:05:54who use false identity documents to claim benefits. It's an
0:05:54 > 0:06:00increasingly common way of cheating the system and Kiri is worried
0:06:00 > 0:06:04about the high number of cases involving fake passports. That's
0:06:05 > 0:06:09the fake passport is it? One of them. It looks and feels real,
0:06:09 > 0:06:13doesn't it? Yes. It's not real. to you? No. But you could see how
0:06:13 > 0:06:17it would trick people? Yes. What do you think about this supply of
0:06:17 > 0:06:21fraudulent passports. What is your hunch? Someone must be making a lot
0:06:21 > 0:06:25of money out of it. Do you think it's something they could have done
0:06:25 > 0:06:32between them, do you think? it's a lot more organised. Why not?
0:06:33 > 0:06:37This is the ninth or tenth case we've come across.
0:06:38 > 0:06:42A few days later, and an early start for Kiri's team. Working with
0:06:42 > 0:06:46the police, they're about to raid a suspect's house. We believe he's on
0:06:46 > 0:06:51income support and is claiming carers' allowance for an elderly
0:06:51 > 0:06:57lady who is around 90. We've got to take a bit of care there. What we
0:06:57 > 0:07:00are looking to do is find any identity documents. If we don't
0:07:00 > 0:07:04find anything in that name, we'll look at any other documents at the
0:07:04 > 0:07:07address. Anybody got any questions...
0:07:07 > 0:07:17These early morning raids have become a regular occurrence for
0:07:17 > 0:07:24Kiri and the team. Can you open the door? It's the police...
0:07:24 > 0:07:29The man who lives here is suspected of using a fake Passport to Get
0:07:29 > 0:07:35benefits. You are under arrest for presenting a false Passport to The
0:07:35 > 0:07:41council. Have you got the passport on you? They have a warrant to
0:07:41 > 0:07:45search through his possessions. They find the pass ports and start
0:07:45 > 0:07:55making checks. The -- passports. Your grandmother lives at this
0:07:55 > 0:07:58
0:07:58 > 0:08:03address, yes. How long you been The arrested man is supposed to be
0:08:03 > 0:08:13caring for a 90-year-old woman, but she's not here. He's not happy and
0:08:13 > 0:08:23
0:08:23 > 0:08:28he doesn't want to answer questions You don't have to explain anything
0:08:28 > 0:08:33to me. Do you have a number for the French Embassy? I think we need to
0:08:33 > 0:08:38give them a ring. It turns out the passport is legal, but digging
0:08:38 > 0:08:48around, it looks like the old woman, who the man is claiming carers'
0:08:48 > 0:08:52allowance for, isn't even living here. I don't think this room at
0:08:52 > 0:08:59least looks like it's occupied. I don't think she has lived here for
0:09:00 > 0:09:04some time. The question is, where is she? It also looks as though
0:09:04 > 0:09:11benefits with being claimed in the old lady's name both here in
0:09:11 > 0:09:15Hillingdon and in the Netherlands. That's interesting. Although there
0:09:15 > 0:09:22was nothing wrong with that passport, the council are checking
0:09:22 > 0:09:27records in Holland. They plan to re-interview the arrested man. He
0:09:27 > 0:09:32says he's done nothing wrong. Kiri is still suspicious. In this case,
0:09:32 > 0:09:35he's claiming for someone else who hasn't been living in this country.
0:09:36 > 0:09:39That's my suspicion. We'll find out when he get to the office by
0:09:39 > 0:09:45getting in touch with the Dutch authorities. We are looking at
0:09:45 > 0:09:51large sums of money here. We've got Housing Benefit, council tax
0:09:51 > 0:09:55benefit. He's also in receipt of carers' allowance. On the
0:09:55 > 0:09:58department and Work and Pensions side, we've got income support. I
0:09:58 > 0:10:05believe there's a Pension Credit element there and probably
0:10:05 > 0:10:09attendance allowance. There's quite a lot of money involved here.
0:10:09 > 0:10:14But why should we care if people do claim a few benefits they shouldn't
0:10:14 > 0:10:23have? Well, the cost to the taxpayer of benefit, Tax Credit
0:10:23 > 0:10:28fraud and council house scams is a staggering �4 billion a year. Cash
0:10:28 > 0:10:34thought to be disappearing at record levels often undetected and
0:10:35 > 0:10:38unchecked. Jim Gee used to be Head of Counter-fraud for the NHS and
0:10:38 > 0:10:41now advises ministers. Fraud is important. It undermines the
0:10:41 > 0:10:45quality of the Public Services that people pay their taxes to get and,
0:10:45 > 0:10:49each time fraud takes place, it means the public expenditure
0:10:49 > 0:10:54reductions have to be more painful. More jobs have to go. Can you give
0:10:55 > 0:10:58us a sense of the scale? estimated that �22 billion of
0:10:58 > 0:11:03public expenditure was being lost to fraud and error. That's way more
0:11:03 > 0:11:10than people imagined? Yes, indeed. That's because we applied the best
0:11:10 > 0:11:15available data. We are confident in that figure. Across the whole of
0:11:15 > 0:11:19Government, that's billions lost to us all. In Croydon, investigator
0:11:20 > 0:11:24Andrea cord I have doing her bit to get some of it back -- Cordery.
0:11:24 > 0:11:28She's on her way to Graham Axford's flat, the guy with the boat and the
0:11:28 > 0:11:34other life in France. He's been on Incapacity Benefit since 1996 after
0:11:34 > 0:11:38he injured his back in a motorcycle accident. Andrea wants to see if
0:11:38 > 0:11:45he's still entitled to it. We are not convinced that what he's told
0:11:45 > 0:11:52us about his disability is true. So if we can see him without him
0:11:52 > 0:11:56seeing us, we should be able to see what his natural behaviour would be.
0:11:56 > 0:12:02It's the sort of thing where someone tells you they've got a bad
0:12:02 > 0:12:12back and can't walk properly, we might be lucky enough to see them
0:12:12 > 0:12:16
0:12:16 > 0:12:22Surveillance takes time, but she needs the evidence. I'm trying to
0:12:22 > 0:12:26see his movements really. We know he drives, we know he sails.
0:12:26 > 0:12:31Bearing in mind that he is in receipt of Incapacity Benefit,
0:12:31 > 0:12:41based on a bad back, it will be interesting to see him jumping on a
0:12:41 > 0:12:52
0:12:52 > 0:12:59It's a long day and no Graham Axford. This is one of the boring
0:12:59 > 0:13:03days. Twoun Mr Axford today! -- one to Mr Axford today. It's not just
0:13:03 > 0:13:08the persistent or high value cheats that the council is chasing. The
0:13:08 > 0:13:11low level stuff can cause just as much distress. Chris Norris is
0:13:11 > 0:13:15leading this team from Hillington Council out to catch the blue badge
0:13:15 > 0:13:21offenders, people who park in disabled bays when they've no right
0:13:21 > 0:13:27to be there. Where's your mother today? She's at home but I'm just
0:13:27 > 0:13:30going to do her banking. You are not allowed to do that. You have to
0:13:30 > 0:13:34have the person with you. I'm going to have to caution you, Sir. You do
0:13:34 > 0:13:37not have to say anything, but it may harm your defence if you do not
0:13:37 > 0:13:42mention when questioned something which you later rely on in court.
0:13:42 > 0:13:46Anything you do say may be given in evidence. I'm going to have to
0:13:46 > 0:13:51seize this blue badge from you today. OK. You will be called in
0:13:51 > 0:13:54for an interview under caution. problem. So you keep hold of that
0:13:54 > 0:13:58now? Yes, we are seizing this badge today. Thank you for your time.
0:13:58 > 0:14:04What do you think about what's just been said to you now? I'm doing a
0:14:04 > 0:14:10bit of banking for my mum who's got the badge and... You are not giving
0:14:10 > 0:14:15me a ticket are you? Yes. I'm moves it nous. I'm not parked, the
0:14:15 > 0:14:19engine's still warm. Seems a bit daft to me. Why did you think you
0:14:19 > 0:14:23could park here? You are fit and well? Doing business for my mum
0:14:23 > 0:14:27who's not fit and well. But you are, you can park anywhere. If you park
0:14:27 > 0:14:37here, that means somebody else can't park here who is fit and
0:14:37 > 0:14:39
0:14:39 > 0:14:43well? Yes, I suppose you are right It's not just blocking baize.
0:14:43 > 0:14:48Nicking disabled spaces deprives councils of parking fees at a time
0:14:48 > 0:14:52when cash is tight. What did you do? He's using someone else's badge.
0:14:52 > 0:14:57Why were you parking down here? have a disabled badge. You're not
0:14:57 > 0:15:02disabled are you? My wife is. I wasn't aware of this rule. You were
0:15:02 > 0:15:06beeping that man, who was disabled, trying to park in a way. I wasn't
0:15:06 > 0:15:10aware of this rule. You must know that you can't... I wasn't aware of
0:15:10 > 0:15:13this rule. You only parked here so you could get near to the shops.
0:15:13 > 0:15:17There's nothing wrong with you. You're blocking it for other people.
0:15:17 > 0:15:27I wasn't aware of this rule. Don't patronise me all right.
0:15:27 > 0:15:30
0:15:30 > 0:15:35The chance of free parking and a short walk to the shops, it seems
0:15:35 > 0:15:39the temptation to use a blue badge unlawfully is irresistible. So, you
0:15:39 > 0:15:43could park anywhere and walk same as anywhere else? Yeah. There's the
0:15:43 > 0:15:51problem right there. Too many people park here until a warden
0:15:51 > 0:15:56comes. That's not fair on genuine badge holders. I'll take my glasses
0:15:56 > 0:16:01off. I will move my car. I did politely say I would move my car if
0:16:01 > 0:16:11somebody came round. You did. I'm not disputing that. There you go.
0:16:11 > 0:16:14
0:16:14 > 0:16:18While some of those who get challenged are quick to kick off,
0:16:18 > 0:16:22there are plenty that support Chris's team. What do you think of
0:16:22 > 0:16:28these guys trying to make sure people have the right badges?
0:16:28 > 0:16:36brilliant. Well done. You're doing a good job. What do you think?
0:16:36 > 0:16:40them all mate, good job, mate. them all? Yeah, yeah. I think what
0:16:40 > 0:16:44people don't get when she sneak in here and try and get an easy
0:16:44 > 0:16:47parking space is how upset the people who get blocked out feel.
0:16:47 > 0:16:53Because they need these spaces and if they can't use them, they're a
0:16:53 > 0:16:59bit stuck. This low level cheating is all part of a bigger problem,
0:16:59 > 0:17:01according to one of Britain's leading fraud researchers. A lot of
0:17:01 > 0:17:05people rationalise they're doing no-one any harm. If you create a
0:17:05 > 0:17:09culture where certain types of dishonest behaviour are acceptable,
0:17:09 > 0:17:19then you are po ten shallly opening the door to more serious forms of
0:17:19 > 0:17:21
0:17:21 > 0:17:25dishonest behaviour. Remember Graham Axford, the man on
0:17:26 > 0:17:29incapacity benefit in Croydon who also has a boat and house in France.
0:17:29 > 0:17:33We've had a breakthrough. He's agreed to meet our undercover
0:17:33 > 0:17:36reporter. We're meeting at his local pub, another reporter
0:17:36 > 0:17:46secretly films him as he arrives. He's claiming incapacity benefit,
0:17:46 > 0:17:52
0:17:52 > 0:17:58but he turns up on a bike. He looks He thinks we want to buy his boat.
0:17:58 > 0:18:03In fact, we just want to find out more about his secret life.
0:18:03 > 0:18:08look like you're ready for another pint. Nice to meet you. When our
0:18:08 > 0:18:11man turns up, Graham Axford's bad back doesn't stop him grabbing a
0:18:11 > 0:18:21bar stool. He's wearing a sweatshirt with a picture of his
0:18:21 > 0:18:36
0:18:36 > 0:18:46boat, crumpet. What do you do? Settled with his pint Graham Axford
0:18:46 > 0:19:17
0:19:17 > 0:19:21Hang on, the man who's on incapacity benefit also says he's
0:19:21 > 0:19:31sailed his yacht to the Azores. That DVD should be interesting then.
0:19:31 > 0:19:37
0:19:37 > 0:19:47He's had thousands from the state, now he wants �25,000 for the yacht.
0:19:47 > 0:19:54
0:19:54 > 0:19:59But we've got more checks to do. Graham Axford has a council flat in
0:19:59 > 0:20:04Croydon, but he has another place that he lives and it's here, in the
0:20:04 > 0:20:08beautiful Normandy countryside. Beyond those trees, he has a
0:20:08 > 0:20:12farmhouse. It's a substantial place. We're going to try and get a bit
0:20:12 > 0:20:17closer to see if we can have a better look at it.
0:20:17 > 0:20:21Croydon Council thinks he had the place here when he applied for his
0:20:21 > 0:20:23flat. It's obvious really that you can't get a Council house, if you
0:20:23 > 0:20:33already own somewhere else. If you hide the fact that you have
0:20:33 > 0:20:39somewhere else, you could be in serious trouble. It took some
0:20:39 > 0:20:43reaching, hidden away in the French countryside, but we eventually
0:20:43 > 0:20:48discovered the rural retreat. Our undercover reporter has managed to
0:20:49 > 0:20:52not only get access to the boat, but we've been able to have a look
0:20:52 > 0:20:56at the property. His second property, if you like, try and see
0:20:56 > 0:21:03what we could see there. From a distance it looked big. But up
0:21:03 > 0:21:08close it looks quite substantial. This is a big place. It's in its
0:21:08 > 0:21:18own grounds in beautiful countryside. This is extraordinary.
0:21:18 > 0:21:21
0:21:21 > 0:21:26He has another yacht. Maybe this is Crumpet One. This is a man on
0:21:26 > 0:21:31housing benefit, incapacity benefit, a flat in Croydon, but he has a
0:21:31 > 0:21:35farmhouse, two yachts. He has this other life in France. Now Graham
0:21:35 > 0:21:40Axford half owned this property when he applied for his council
0:21:41 > 0:21:44flat in 1997, but he didn't declare it and that's serious deception. Of
0:21:44 > 0:21:52course, he's paid very little rent for that flat because of his
0:21:52 > 0:21:58incapacity benefit. We need to see how justified that claim is. This
0:21:58 > 0:22:04flat in south London is being repossessed, after Panorama exposed
0:22:04 > 0:22:10another housing scam here earlier this year. Well done. This team is
0:22:10 > 0:22:13from Southwark Council. They're taking the flat back, after we
0:22:13 > 0:22:20showed the previous tenant unlawfully renting it out for a fat
0:22:20 > 0:22:27profit. Long gone. This is not quite the living room that we sat
0:22:27 > 0:22:37in. The damage is not that bad. that bad. This is what it used to
0:22:37 > 0:22:41look like. It was supposed to be the home of this man, PC Stephen
0:22:41 > 0:22:47Holt, a crime prevention officer. As a tenant he was supposed to live
0:22:47 > 0:22:54in it. Under a year ago, PC Holt told our team he was happy to rent
0:22:54 > 0:23:01out his council flat for holiday lets. It's fully booked now.
0:23:01 > 0:23:06not surprised. That's �400. Did you want a deposit as well? Yes there's
0:23:06 > 0:23:16a �200 deposit. Chatting to our undercover reporter, the details of
0:23:16 > 0:23:18
0:23:18 > 0:23:21That's right the policeman unlawfully renting out his council
0:23:21 > 0:23:26flat just said he has a place in France.
0:23:26 > 0:23:32We asked PC Holt about the subletting and he sent us an e-mail.
0:23:32 > 0:23:34He says he misunderstood the tenancey agreement and
0:23:34 > 0:23:42inadvertantly breached conditions. He went on, as soon as he became
0:23:43 > 0:23:47aware of this, he notified the council and returned the property.
0:23:47 > 0:23:50A further detail has come to light. Southwark Council and the
0:23:50 > 0:23:54Metropolitan Police are investigating whether PC Holt
0:23:54 > 0:23:59falsified documents in order to get hold of the flat in the first place.
0:23:59 > 0:24:06His solicitors say this is a serious allegation, which he
0:24:06 > 0:24:12robustly denies. This won't take long. There's not much decorating,
0:24:12 > 0:24:17if any, to do. Flats like this are desperately needed. There are
0:24:17 > 0:24:2319,000 people on the waiting list here in Southwark alone and five
0:24:23 > 0:24:26million in England as a whole. So the scale of the problem is clear,
0:24:26 > 0:24:36nationally about 167,000 council properties are being unlawfully
0:24:36 > 0:24:49
0:24:49 > 0:24:54Back in Hillingdon, the fraud team is still trying to get to the
0:24:54 > 0:24:57people who manufacture fake passports and ID cards. Kiri thinks
0:24:57 > 0:25:05a national insurance card presented by a benefit claimant looks
0:25:05 > 0:25:11suspicious. Straight away, I have picked it up that was a made up, a
0:25:11 > 0:25:17fake national insurance number. So, what we have a an individual trying
0:25:17 > 0:25:20to obtain benefits with, who is claiming to be French, claiming to
0:25:20 > 0:25:25have just come into the country, has produced wage slips claiming to
0:25:25 > 0:25:32be working for a hospital, for a local hospital, as a porter and has
0:25:32 > 0:25:40asked for help to pay his rentment -- Rent. Within days he's invited
0:25:40 > 0:25:46for an interview. When he arrives it's not just Kiri who's waiting.
0:25:46 > 0:25:51You're under arrest for on 29th July 2011, you presented a fake
0:25:51 > 0:25:56French identity card. You also completed an application for
0:25:56 > 0:26:03housing benefit and Council Tax Benefit dishonestly. Is the
0:26:03 > 0:26:12tightness OK? The police search his bag for any other evidence of
0:26:12 > 0:26:22identity fraud. They confiscate the man's fake national insurance card
0:26:22 > 0:26:24
0:26:24 > 0:26:28and find a second one. The French identity card, which he has
0:26:28 > 0:26:35produced, was found to be counterfits and also the national
0:26:35 > 0:26:38insurance number, which belongs to his wife, is not really hers.
0:26:38 > 0:26:48Kiri needs to search the man's flat, where he lives with his wife and
0:26:48 > 0:26:59
0:26:59 > 0:27:05That's a Mauritian national identity card in the name of
0:27:05 > 0:27:10Laksiman Pudoo. There's his birth certificate. Mauritian birth
0:27:10 > 0:27:15certificate. These are original birth and marriage certificates for
0:27:15 > 0:27:19both Mr and Mrs Pudoo. They're from the republic of Mauritius.
0:27:19 > 0:27:26pretending to the French, the man hoped to be able to stay in this
0:27:26 > 0:27:31country. If he's found guilty, he faces possible imprisonment and
0:27:31 > 0:27:34deportation. Kiri can find this part of the job difficult. I feel
0:27:34 > 0:27:39very sad about this whole thing. Everything they were aiming for,
0:27:39 > 0:27:45for them and for their kids, to make a living here, living in this
0:27:45 > 0:27:47kind of place, trying to legitimise, it's all going to be wasted now,
0:27:47 > 0:27:57criminal record, criminal case. They're going to be evicted. What
0:27:57 > 0:27:59
0:27:59 > 0:28:01can do you? Tackling fraud is not always about lengthy investigations.
0:28:01 > 0:28:06Council investigator Chris Norris and the blue badge squad are back
0:28:06 > 0:28:09out, looking for people who unlawfully use the badges to park
0:28:09 > 0:28:15in disabled spaces. What's surprising is how many people are
0:28:15 > 0:28:22cheating. Madam? And how angry they get when challenged. I'm asking you
0:28:22 > 0:28:29to see the blue badge. She can't wake. Where is she? Round in the
0:28:29 > 0:28:34harl Quinn. You can come with me. We're not in the Harlequinn.
0:28:34 > 0:28:37driver claims the badge holder is in a nearby shopping centre, but
0:28:38 > 0:28:42isn't keen to get her with an officer. She is December froit get
0:28:42 > 0:28:52away and ignores Chris's attempts to stop her. Do we have a police
0:28:52 > 0:28:58
0:28:58 > 0:29:02office sner Yeah police are on the Then the team approach a woman who
0:29:02 > 0:29:07says she's here to pick up her sister, blue badge holder.
0:29:07 > 0:29:17badge is hers. If she was with you in the car, that's fine. It seems
0:29:17 > 0:29:21
0:29:21 > 0:29:25she might not be telling the whole We know the sister works in Next
0:29:25 > 0:29:35and we know that that's the other sister and they're misusing the
0:29:35 > 0:29:38
0:29:38 > 0:29:42She's going to work... Whereabouts do you work? I also work in Next as
0:29:42 > 0:29:47well. So you've parked here to come into work? You just told me you
0:29:47 > 0:29:53were going to pick her up? Yes, I was going to go into work as well.
0:29:53 > 0:29:58You said you were going to pick her up and that you were... No, I'm...
0:29:58 > 0:30:03I need to let you know what your rights are. You do not have to say
0:30:03 > 0:30:06anything, anything you do say may be give none evidence. You are not
0:30:06 > 0:30:10under arrest, we are local authority officers, not police. We
0:30:10 > 0:30:17have to retain the badge at this point in time, yes. That's the
0:30:17 > 0:30:21thing to bear in mind. I'm done here. Hi. I'm Richard from Panorama.
0:30:21 > 0:30:26You have come to park in a disabled bay but you haven't got a
0:30:26 > 0:30:34disability have you? No. Did you know it was wrong? Yes. How do you
0:30:34 > 0:30:38feel right now? Stupid. Really stupid.
0:30:38 > 0:30:44The woman who drove off earlier is now back and this time an elderly
0:30:44 > 0:30:48woman is in the front seat. All I was asking was to see your blue
0:30:48 > 0:30:53badge. I wasn't going to park up and two round the corner, I didn't
0:30:54 > 0:31:00need to, you should have believed me. He wasn't with you. I left her
0:31:00 > 0:31:04over the other side with my husband... That is the lady who was
0:31:04 > 0:31:08here before and she seems to have brought the blue badge holder and
0:31:08 > 0:31:13now she wants to talk to Chris. What I can do is first of all ask
0:31:13 > 0:31:19to see the badge. You are not holding it. I need to take the
0:31:19 > 0:31:24details and the serial number. are told later that the story about
0:31:24 > 0:31:27the elderly woman being in the shopping centre is nonsense. When
0:31:27 > 0:31:30the council made further inquiries, they found that after driving at
0:31:30 > 0:31:34Chris, the investigator, she went straight round to the elderly
0:31:34 > 0:31:39woman's nursing home, had her dressed, put her in the car and
0:31:39 > 0:31:43drove her back. The case has been referred to social services. The
0:31:44 > 0:31:47driver of the car admitted to Panorama that she had made an error
0:31:47 > 0:31:57of judgment and then panicked. She says it will never happen again and
0:31:57 > 0:32:01that she cares deeply for the elderly badge holder.
0:32:01 > 0:32:06Some cases are breathtaking. Croydon Council investigator Andrea
0:32:06 > 0:32:11Cordery is looking at the case of Stephen Sussams. It's thought he
0:32:11 > 0:32:15may have claimed thousands in benefits he's not entitled to. He
0:32:15 > 0:32:19has a council flat, most of the rent and council tax are paid for
0:32:19 > 0:32:27because the local authority thinks he's on Incapacity Benefit. He's
0:32:28 > 0:32:33not. It was stopped two years ago but he never told the council. He
0:32:33 > 0:32:38also never told them he has a double life, a long way from his
0:32:38 > 0:32:41Croydon flat. Andrea thinks Stephen Sussams is
0:32:41 > 0:32:46running a pub in Devon while claiming for a council house and a
0:32:46 > 0:32:51led of benefits in Croydon. She's got the documentation, she's got it
0:32:51 > 0:33:01all on paper. We've come down to Devon to see for ourselves what's
0:33:01 > 0:33:02
0:33:02 > 0:33:08going on. Stephen Sussams' pub is in Kingswear opposite Dartmouth in
0:33:08 > 0:33:18one of the most beautiful parts of Devon. The pub sits by the marina,
0:33:18 > 0:33:21a thriving upmarket tourist destination. And the Royal Dart pub
0:33:21 > 0:33:25is famous, Royal because Queen Victoria visited the posh yacht
0:33:25 > 0:33:29club here. It's the sort of place you would imagine a landlord would
0:33:29 > 0:33:32do pretty well. Our undercover reporter's spent the afternoon down
0:33:32 > 0:33:36in Kingswear and he was basically looking for Sussams to see if he
0:33:36 > 0:33:40was in the pub, to see if he was just there. I've just got the
0:33:40 > 0:33:44footage back so I'm going to watch it now. This is the main street in
0:33:44 > 0:33:47Kingswear. This is the pub, the Royal Dart, at the heart of
0:33:47 > 0:33:50Kingswear, which is a very beautiful little place. Our
0:33:51 > 0:34:00reporter has seen Sussams and he's walking towards the back of his pub.
0:34:00 > 0:34:10He's in a car, which is... Unbelievely, he's getting out of a
0:34:10 > 0:34:31
0:34:31 > 0:34:34Bentley. That's the cover story. That's the clincher. He's just said
0:34:34 > 0:34:37he's been there for two-and-a-half years. Let's not forget, this is a
0:34:37 > 0:34:41man who has a council flat in Croydon, telling our reporter that
0:34:41 > 0:34:47in fact he's the landlord of a pub in a beautiful village in Devon and
0:34:47 > 0:34:57he's saying all this while he's pulling bags out the back of his
0:34:57 > 0:35:05
0:35:05 > 0:35:13More confirmation that Stephen Sussams is actually running the pub.
0:35:13 > 0:35:17A double life. Extraordinary. Experts say across the country
0:35:17 > 0:35:24councils are pretty poor at detecting and stopping fraud. Some
0:35:24 > 0:35:34are trying to put that right. This is Stoke where, over the last few
0:35:34 > 0:35:39years, they've beefed up their anti-fraud team. Can you give me a
0:35:39 > 0:35:44brief overview as to how you are going to set it up and how we are
0:35:44 > 0:35:49going to set it up? Two cameras here, one here so we can see across
0:35:49 > 0:35:52the road. We can set another one up in the bedroom, one with a close-up
0:35:52 > 0:35:57so we can see somebody's face. There have been complaints that a
0:35:57 > 0:36:00council bungalow is being used as a late-night resting place for local
0:36:01 > 0:36:06taxi drivers. The investigators decide surveillance is the best way
0:36:06 > 0:36:13to find out what's really going on. This team is rigging up secret
0:36:13 > 0:36:18cameras. We can see the sign tonne roof, the name of the company, that
0:36:18 > 0:36:22kind of thing. That would be massive evidentially. It would be
0:36:22 > 0:36:25more wide angled. You will see the person moving to the door. The big
0:36:25 > 0:36:33camera is the one that focuses on the door that catches the faces, so
0:36:33 > 0:36:40we'll have two bits, two forms of evidence here. Paul is in charge of
0:36:40 > 0:36:43the team. The situation here, there's elderly people, obviously
0:36:44 > 0:36:46bungalows are suited to elderly people, they're waiting to get into
0:36:46 > 0:36:50these properties and it's an absolute crying shame if a property
0:36:50 > 0:36:54like this, which is meant to be occupied by an elderly person,
0:36:54 > 0:36:58actually isn't and is being used for something like a stop-off for
0:36:58 > 0:37:03taxi drivers. We can't show you the results of the surveillance or
0:37:03 > 0:37:07where the house is, because the investigation is still running,
0:37:07 > 0:37:11Stoke's housing fraud operation was only set up recently. They've
0:37:11 > 0:37:16seized around 30 houses in the last six months. Paul says the more
0:37:16 > 0:37:21they've looked for cheats, the more they've found. We are getting lots
0:37:21 > 0:37:24more referrals in now and we are now at the stage where we've got 70
0:37:24 > 0:37:27ongoing cases. So there was a time when you weren't doing any of these
0:37:27 > 0:37:30investigations and now the more you look, the bigger the problem you
0:37:30 > 0:37:34are finding? I've been here five years now and year on year we
0:37:34 > 0:37:37haven't covered more and more fraud. That's not to say that there's more
0:37:37 > 0:37:41and more fraud happening, it's probably more the case that we've
0:37:41 > 0:37:46become more effective at what we do. In a way, are remore vulnerable to
0:37:46 > 0:37:50benefit fraud than we've been for a while? Absolutely. It goes without
0:37:50 > 0:37:56saying, when the financial climate is how it is, fraud will go up, no
0:37:56 > 0:38:00two roads about that, and it is. The fact is, it takes a lot of
0:38:00 > 0:38:05effort to catch benefit cheats, and even then, you are only likely to
0:38:05 > 0:38:10get a tiny proportion. These are vied owes that successfully caught
0:38:10 > 0:38:15some claiming disability related benefits when they shouldn't be.
0:38:15 > 0:38:19This is from a guy in Wolverhampton. He's warming up for a football game.
0:38:19 > 0:38:23He's doing a bit of keepy uppy. Reasonably impressive. He's
0:38:23 > 0:38:29stretching his legs and he's about to come on. This is surveillance
0:38:29 > 0:38:35footage of a guy who's making a claim that from these pictures it
0:38:35 > 0:38:39doesn't look like he deserves. The examples keep coming. This
0:38:39 > 0:38:44scoutmaster from Newcastle claimed benefit force a bad back but was
0:38:44 > 0:38:49caught heaving heavy collection tins into the back of a car. This
0:38:49 > 0:38:55woman's claimed disability living allowance but seemed fit enough to
0:38:55 > 0:39:05play a round of golf. In fact, there seems to be quite a few
0:39:05 > 0:39:08
0:39:08 > 0:39:15golfers on sickness related Then, there's the badminton player,
0:39:15 > 0:39:18a former schoolteacher who claimed disability living allowance. And
0:39:18 > 0:39:28this man was also on disability living allowance but it didn't stop
0:39:28 > 0:39:31him working on his allotment. There is a kind of inherent comedy
0:39:31 > 0:39:34value to these where you think, look at him, he says he can't work
0:39:34 > 0:39:38and he's digging in his garden with his shirt off, but maybe the point
0:39:38 > 0:39:42of this is that it takes such a lot of effort just to stop one case.
0:39:42 > 0:39:47It's about one in 30, the number of people who fraudulently claim and
0:39:47 > 0:39:53then get stopped. But to get that one in 30, it takes this kind of
0:39:54 > 0:39:57effort. And expense. Unfortunately, the chances of getting caught for
0:39:58 > 0:40:01fraud are very, very low. A lot of organisations that have their own
0:40:01 > 0:40:06investigative capacity don't have enough resources. The consequences
0:40:06 > 0:40:10of that are that the vast number of frauds that are occuring, only a
0:40:10 > 0:40:14very, very tiny proportion ever end up in the courts. That is obviously
0:40:14 > 0:40:18a major problem I think to society when you are sending out a message
0:40:18 > 0:40:24that you can engage in fraud, your chances of getting caught are low
0:40:24 > 0:40:28and your chances of ending up with a stiff criminal penalty are even
0:40:28 > 0:40:33lower. But Croydon's investigators continue to watch Graham Axford.
0:40:33 > 0:40:39Remember, he's the man who got a council flat in Croydon, rent and
0:40:39 > 0:40:42council tax pretty much paid, even though he already had a farmhouse
0:40:42 > 0:40:47in Normandy. He's on Incapacity Benefit but seems to have spent a
0:40:47 > 0:40:52lot of time sailing around in his boat called Crumpet Too. We arrange
0:40:52 > 0:40:56another meeting, still pretending to be interested in buying his boat.
0:40:56 > 0:41:00He arrives on his bike again, this time he's on the phone. He's not
0:41:00 > 0:41:05shy when it comes to talking about his other life. Out comes his
0:41:05 > 0:41:15laptop so he can show us what he's done to the farmhouse. Not a bad
0:41:15 > 0:41:28
0:41:28 > 0:41:38place for a bloke who's asking the He's even built himself a place to
0:41:38 > 0:41:46
0:41:46 > 0:41:53Although he tells us that sometimes the work made his back worse, he
0:41:53 > 0:42:03still managed to do a pretty good job on the farpblhouse. --
0:42:03 > 0:42:14
0:42:14 > 0:42:18farmhouse. A lot of work? No, you Reroof all of that? Yes. That must
0:42:18 > 0:42:22have been a lot of lifting, all those tiles, they're heavy aren't
0:42:23 > 0:42:25they? Yes, five pounds each I think it is. That's the reason we bought
0:42:25 > 0:42:30a tractor. Graham Axford isn't working because of his bad back,
0:42:30 > 0:42:35but it doesn't seem to have stopped him reroofing his farmhouse. He
0:42:35 > 0:42:40also told us he sailed across the Atlantic and that was while he was
0:42:40 > 0:42:43on Incapacity Benefit too. His final confession # He pretty much
0:42:43 > 0:42:53lived in the States for seven years. You can't keep a council flat if
0:42:53 > 0:42:57
0:42:57 > 0:43:07you are living abroad. And here it is, Graham Axford on Crumpet Too in
0:43:07 > 0:43:40
0:43:40 > 0:43:50Blue skies, dolphins and a big sailing boat. And all on incapacity
0:43:50 > 0:43:55
0:43:55 > 0:43:59We want to know how he can explain his double life. So this is where
0:43:59 > 0:44:03Graham Axford lives. This is where his council flat is. We have been
0:44:03 > 0:44:06here for a couple of days hoping to grab a word with him, but we
0:44:06 > 0:44:10haven't managed to see him. We have received an e-mail from his
0:44:10 > 0:44:14solicitor who says "Mr Axford has never fraudulently misrepresented
0:44:14 > 0:44:18the nature or extent on his back injury, that he's been assessed by
0:44:18 > 0:44:22medical professionals and they say, having an ongoing back condition is
0:44:22 > 0:44:25not incompatible with cycling or being able to travel on the boat
0:44:25 > 0:44:29with assistance." That's what his solicitors say. We still have one
0:44:29 > 0:44:39or two questions that we would like to put to Mr Axford. I'm going to
0:44:39 > 0:45:04
0:45:04 > 0:45:08knock on his door and see if I can So, his bike is here, but he's not
0:45:08 > 0:45:13answering his door and that is a shame, because we think that there
0:45:13 > 0:45:19are other questions that he has to answer, like, how he managed to get
0:45:19 > 0:45:23this flat when he already had a farmhouse in France. And how he was
0:45:23 > 0:45:27able to claim incapacity benefit when he was living in another
0:45:27 > 0:45:32country. Those are questions that we would
0:45:32 > 0:45:35like to ask Mr Axford, but that he will have to answer any way,
0:45:35 > 0:45:39because he continues to be investigated by the council. They
0:45:39 > 0:45:44will keep knocking until they get an answer. Mr Axford told us he and
0:45:44 > 0:45:54his wife have separated. She lives in the French farmhouse and he
0:45:54 > 0:45:58lives in the Croydon council flat. Out by Heathrow, on the other side
0:45:58 > 0:46:02of London, the team from Hillingdon Council are dealing with another
0:46:02 > 0:46:07man -- man suspected of having multiple fake identities.
0:46:07 > 0:46:17Suspecting something is one thing, proving it quite another. Kiri, his
0:46:17 > 0:46:19
0:46:19 > 0:46:29colleague and the police pay him an Come and open the door, it's the
0:46:29 > 0:46:46
0:46:46 > 0:46:52They may have lost the element of surprise, so out comes the enforcer.
0:46:52 > 0:47:00Please! Turns out he was in all along. Why didn't you open the
0:47:00 > 0:47:10door? What's your name? Have you got some ID? We have a warrant to
0:47:10 > 0:47:15
0:47:15 > 0:47:21They have a warrant to look for a man called Rachid Kachour, he's
0:47:22 > 0:47:26supposed to live here. But this guy says he's called Thierry. Your
0:47:26 > 0:47:30family, are they Algerian? Yeah. Elsewhere in the house, the team
0:47:30 > 0:47:36find evidence that the man they're looking for, a Mr Kachour, could be
0:47:36 > 0:47:40claiming benefits fraudulently. These pay slips are for Kachour,
0:47:40 > 0:47:44Rachid Kachour, and these look like the originals. But we have a blank
0:47:44 > 0:47:48original here. It looks like the pay slips that have been presented
0:47:48 > 0:47:54to the London borough of Hillingdon have been made up here on site,
0:47:54 > 0:47:59because we've got blank ones. Ramila is trying to work out where
0:47:59 > 0:48:04this man, who says he's called Thierry, fits in. He's not been
0:48:04 > 0:48:09listed on the benefit claim as living here. It's meant to be Mr
0:48:09 > 0:48:15Kachour. Now, my only thought is that Mr Kachour an the person that
0:48:15 > 0:48:20we have in the room is the same person. While other officers search
0:48:20 > 0:48:26for more papers, Sergeant Bewley has his own go at getting to the
0:48:26 > 0:48:32truth and yet another name comes to light and Mr Dimane. Immigration
0:48:32 > 0:48:37have a record of your name and say that another name of a person he
0:48:37 > 0:48:47uses is actually Dimane. Yeah. you used that name? Use it? Have
0:48:47 > 0:49:09
0:49:09 > 0:49:14Someone has used both names. You say you've never spoken to
0:49:14 > 0:49:24immigration? Maybe, I'm not sure. Have you ever put in a claim to UK
0:49:24 > 0:49:27
0:49:27 > 0:49:32immigration to stay in this country? Thierry or? You, you're
0:49:32 > 0:49:38Thierry aren't you? Yeah. It seems that Thierry is struggling to
0:49:38 > 0:49:48understand, but Sergeant Bewley is not convinced. What's your name?
0:49:48 > 0:49:52
0:49:52 > 0:49:57Thierry Devetour. Have you applied to stay in the UK? Have you? Can
0:49:57 > 0:50:05you say that without smiling, have you ever used that name? Thierry?
0:50:05 > 0:50:10No that name. Have you ever used that name? For a... Yeah. You have?
0:50:10 > 0:50:16So you and him are the same person, are you? Yeah. Got there at last.
0:50:16 > 0:50:26That's why I said to you to speak the truth. Right, so why did you
0:50:26 > 0:50:30
0:50:30 > 0:50:33use another name? This one? This my original name. That's your original
0:50:33 > 0:50:42name, Ahcene Dimane. Come on, you've started so you have to
0:50:42 > 0:50:46finish. The man finally admits that his real name is Ahcene Dimane and
0:50:46 > 0:50:50that Thierry Devetour is a fake identity he uses. And what about
0:50:50 > 0:50:59that Mr Kachour, the man that came here -- the man they came here to
0:50:59 > 0:51:09find? There's another ID in the kitchen. Is there? How did we miss
0:51:09 > 0:51:12
0:51:12 > 0:51:19that? Oh, dear oh, dear. What's the name in there? Kachour. That's the
0:51:19 > 0:51:24person we are looking for. All these cards we found at this
0:51:24 > 0:51:30address. The council believes that about �50,000 has been fraudulently
0:51:30 > 0:51:40claimed in the name of Mr Kachour. Ahcene Dimane denies that he is Mr
0:51:40 > 0:51:41
0:51:41 > 0:51:51Kachour. But he has just confessed It's difficult life. Life is all
0:51:51 > 0:52:02
0:52:02 > 0:52:07Mr Dimane is arrested. Hillingdon investigators continue their
0:52:07 > 0:52:10pursuit of those using fake documents, but experts say many
0:52:10 > 0:52:13councils don't understand the scale of the problem. A lot of
0:52:14 > 0:52:16organisations are not realistic about the levels of fraud that they
0:52:16 > 0:52:20face, because there is in any organisation a large number of
0:52:21 > 0:52:24frauds that are undetected. So, if they're relying upon detected
0:52:24 > 0:52:32levels of fraud, they are not getting the full picture of the
0:52:32 > 0:52:36extent of fraud within their organisation. Well, one case in
0:52:36 > 0:52:40Croydon we're looking at is that of Stephen Sussams. He gets his flat
0:52:40 > 0:52:44virtually paid for because he's on incapacity benefit, only he's not
0:52:44 > 0:52:50any more, and he hasn't told the council. While he keeps his flat,
0:52:50 > 0:52:55he also runs a waurntfront pub in Devon. When we saw him lass, he was
0:52:55 > 0:53:05pulling shopping out the back of a Bentley. Now we're back because we
0:53:05 > 0:53:06
0:53:06 > 0:53:09want to confirm he's actively working down here on the coast.
0:53:09 > 0:53:14Stephen Sussams is behind the bar counting his cash, doing all the
0:53:14 > 0:53:17things you'd expect a landlord to do. He starts chatting to our
0:53:17 > 0:53:27undercover team. Now the sound is terrible. But listen and he
0:53:27 > 0:53:27
0:53:28 > 0:53:31confirms he owns the business. So it's his business. He's claiming
0:53:31 > 0:53:41benefits and has a council flat in Croydon, while living and working
0:53:41 > 0:53:44
0:53:44 > 0:53:50in one of the poshest parts of the country. Meanwhile, an threa, the
0:53:50 > 0:53:54Croydon fraud investigator, thinks she has gathered enough evidence to
0:53:54 > 0:53:57seize Stephen Sussams' flat. She believes he's breached the terms of
0:53:57 > 0:54:07his tenancey agreement because he's living in Devon. She goes to his
0:54:07 > 0:54:10
0:54:10 > 0:54:14flat to call him for an interview. Mr Sussams? Hello there. Is Mr
0:54:14 > 0:54:20Sussams here? He's not in at the moment. The letter has been
0:54:20 > 0:54:24delivered, but Mr Sussams is not there. This starts the ball rolling.
0:54:24 > 0:54:33There is every possibility that the council has a property here with
0:54:33 > 0:54:36the wrong person in it. The council will be seeking to get that back.
0:54:36 > 0:54:39We separately wrote to Mr Sussams asking him some questions. He said
0:54:39 > 0:54:45he couldn't answer them because there's a council investigation.
0:54:45 > 0:54:50When we catch up with him, he's back in Croydon. Mr Sussams? Hello.
0:54:50 > 0:54:54I'm Richard Bilton from BBC Panorama. Can I grab a quick word
0:54:54 > 0:54:58wu. I was wondering how you get benefits and a council house when
0:54:58 > 0:55:02you have a pub in Devon. As you know, the case is under
0:55:02 > 0:55:06investigation by the council. I've no intention of being involved in
0:55:06 > 0:55:09trial by television. Speak to my solicitor. Just answer a few
0:55:09 > 0:55:13questions for us. This is your right to reply. This is a nice car.
0:55:13 > 0:55:17You have a lovely pub. The council tax payers, are they paying for
0:55:17 > 0:55:20that, what can you say to them? I've said, I have no intention of
0:55:20 > 0:55:23being involved in trial by television. Thank you for the right
0:55:23 > 0:55:27to reply. Why are awe peeling? Most of the time you spend in Devon,
0:55:27 > 0:55:35don't you? You've come back for a bit, is that since you got our
0:55:35 > 0:55:44letter? Mr Sussams, just a couple of questions, if I may? A few
0:55:44 > 0:55:49words? So he said he didn't want to answer the questions, said he
0:55:49 > 0:55:52couldn't because of investigation. He could have easily answered the
0:55:52 > 0:55:56pretty straightforward questions about how he continues to get
0:55:56 > 0:56:00benefits related to incapacity benefit even though he is no longer
0:56:00 > 0:56:04entitled to them and how he has a double life, a pub and a Bentley,
0:56:04 > 0:56:10yet a council house and benefits here in Croydon. He didn't answer
0:56:10 > 0:56:14them. He just drove away in his Bentley.
0:56:14 > 0:56:19Mr Sussams is still being investigated by the council. His
0:56:19 > 0:56:25housing benefit has been suspended. He also faces separate allegations
0:56:25 > 0:56:30that he took about �25,000 in carers allowance for looking after
0:56:30 > 0:56:34someone who had been dead for six months. Mr Pudoo, who was arrested
0:56:34 > 0:56:43for using false papers to get benefits, pleaded guilty in court
0:56:43 > 0:56:47last week. He may now be deported. PC Stephen Holt the crime
0:56:47 > 0:56:53prevention officer who unlawfully sublet his flat remains under
0:56:53 > 0:56:57investigation by Southwark Council an the Metropolitan Police.
0:56:57 > 0:57:00Ahcene Dimane denied benefit fraud but pleaded guilty in court to
0:57:00 > 0:57:05using false documents to get into the country. He's due to be
0:57:05 > 0:57:09sentenced tomorrow. It's difficult life here.
0:57:09 > 0:57:19The woman who drove at Chris the investigator and then reappeared
0:57:19 > 0:57:24
0:57:24 > 0:57:28with the elderly woman may face Graham Axford, the man who sailed
0:57:28 > 0:57:31across the Atlantic while on incapacity benefit, says his
0:57:31 > 0:57:34eligibility for the benefit has been verified by medical
0:57:34 > 0:57:42professionals. But he continues to be investigated by the council and
0:57:43 > 0:57:47could lose his flat. Crumpet Too is still for sale.
0:57:47 > 0:57:51Most people on benefits really need them and don't cheat the system.